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Guam Turns Over Three Criminals, Two Of Whom Are FSM Citizens, For Deportation

Submitted by PIR Editor on Tue, 04/04/2017 - 13:57

After Governor commuted their sentences, men handed over to federal immigration officials

By Jasmine Stole

HAGÅTÑA, Guam (Pacific Daily News, April 4, 2017) – Three more inmates imprisoned at the Department of Corrections had their sentences shortened and soon will face deportation proceedings, according to a statement from the Office of the Governor.

Mark Kuka , Clinton Agtarap Lastimoza and Dixie Tither were turned over to federal immigration officials to go through deportation proceedings. Gov. Eddie Calvo commuted their sentences to have them transferred into federal custody, Adelup announced Tuesday.

Lastimoza and Tither are convicted sex offenders.

Lastimoza was convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct as a second-degree felony. He's a citizen of the Philippines and sentenced to serve a year in prison. He would've been released July 28.

Tither was convicted in July 2016 of third-degree criminal sexual conduct as a second-degree felony. His victim was a 13-year-old girl, according to the sex offender registry.

Tither, a citizen of the Federated States of Micronesia, would have been released March 11, 2018, according to a statement from the governor’s office.

Kuka was convicted of aggravated assault as a second-degree felony and sentenced to serve three years in prison. He's a citizen of the FSM and was scheduled to be released from prison Aug. 18, 2018.

Kuka, Lastimoza and Tither are the 24th, 25th and 26th convicts to have their prison sentences commuted. The first five inmates were escorted on one-way plane rides to their home island in Chuuk, with instructions not to return to Guam. Since September 2016, the governor commuted sentences of another 21 prisoners, who were turned over to federal immigration officials for deportation proceedings.

As a result, federal authorities take on the cost of detaining the inmates in their custody.

Of the 26 convicts released early, 17 are sex offenders.

The victims in the cases related to Lastimoza, Kuka and Tither were notified about the deportation, according to Adelup.

Pacific Islands Report is a nonprofit news publication of the Pacific Islands Development Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Offered as a free service to readers, PIR provides an edited digest of news, commentary and analysis from across the Pacific Islands region, Monday - Friday.